The birth of flame
by He-of-the-geeks
Summary: The story of a 14 year old trainer by the name of Alex who sets out on a journey, expecting nothing more than adventure. What he discovers is an ancient organization of great evil, preparing to complete a sinister plot a thousand years in the making OC RR
1. The beginning

**Hi! This is my first fic on this sight. I know the whole pokemon thing is uber lame, but there is something there, especially with the manga. THE ANIME SUCKS AND THIS FIC IS NOT REMOTELY AFILIATED TO ITS UNIVERSE. NO TALKING POKEMON, NO NOT-SO-SUBTLE-SEXISM, NONE OF IT. THIS IS THE GAME PLOT WITH SOME STUFF THROWN IN. Now that I've had my rant, I just want to warn before I get flamed: I did kind of steal the Naruto/sakura/sasuke thing for the three main characters, but hopefully its not as obvious as in Naruto, and the girl doesn't seem totally useless… anyway, I've introduced this fic, so read it, review it, and take it lightly. Enjoy!!!**

Alex opened his eyes blearily, rubbing them to clear his sight. He sat up and yawned, running his fingers through his ever tangled black hair. He got out of bed, carelessly knocking his sheets onto the floor. He walked halfway to the bathroom when he realized what day it was. He dashed halfway back to his room, before remembering he needed to shower regardless of the date, and ran back to the bathroom. He turned the water on and immediately got in, coming into scalding water. With a shout, he fell backwards out of the shower onto the tiled floor. Grumbling, and fully awake, he adjusted the waters temperature, and resumed bathing.

When he had finished, he quickly toweled himself off, and dashed back to his room. He quickly pulled on his underwear, and got into the clothes he had already picked out: White cargo pants, a black T-shirt, his black hoodie, and his hat, a black beanie with two horizontal white stripes running along the bottom. He pulled on his socks, and laced up his converse shoes.

His backpack was already packed with all his essentials, so he had grabbed it and was running out of his bedroom when he noticed the bright green numbers of the digital clock on his bed stand. He froze, and groaned, hanging his head. _Four in the freaking morning…_ he thought to himself. Knowing he'd never fall asleep again, he took off his backpack and went downstairs. He collapsed onto the couch, and turned on the T.V.

He kept the sound low so his mom wouldn't wake up, and started surfing the channels. He doubted he'd find anything useful, but he had five hours to kill, so it hardly mattered. He watched the first ten minutes of whatever was on, but contrary to his first belief, he fell asleep quickly.

************ *

He woke up suddenly to the sensation of something cold and sticky on his face, and the sound of his nine year old sister laughing hysterically. "Ugh…" he said, wiping his face clean of what seemed to be whipped cream. "I didn't...didn't think...it would…IT WORKED!!!" His sister, Izzy, said between fits of laughter and gasps for air. He noticed she was holding a twig, and that the cream was also on his hand, and he understood what happened. "Alright, alright, you got me, now stop laughing before you wet yourself." Izzy continued giggling, but handed him a towel.

He could smell pancakes cooking, and called "Morning, mom."

Towards the kitchen. "Morning, sweetie." His mother, Stella, called back to him. He touseled Izzy's hair, and walked towards the breakfast table as Stella put down three plates. "Shouldn't you be going soon?" said Izzy. "I've got t…" he stopped as he glanced at the clock, which read 8:57.

"CRAP!" he yelled. He grabbed his backpack, and ran towards the door, leaping over the glass coffee table to avoid stepping through it. He nearly collided into his mom as she exited the kitchen, but he spun around her giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and snatched a pancake from the platter in her hands. "Bye mom!" he yelled as he barreled out the front door. " But I made-" "No time!" he yelled through the pancake which now dangled from his teeth. "GOOD LUCK!" Izzy shouted.

_Crap crap crap crap….. _He repeated over and over in his head. _CRAP!!!_ He was really annoyed at himself for choosing today to wake up early and then wake up again late, as well as very grateful that Izzy had woken him at all, albeit in an unconventional way. He had to be on time because today was his first day as a trainer. Today he would receive his starter pokemon, along with his I.D and his license.

He had wished that the would-be trainers would not be forced to receive their starters on one specific day. Although he had turned fourteen just a day short of eight months ago, (fourteen being the youngest age that a person could register for the League Challenge) starter pokemon and registrations were held on September 5, and then ended for a year. So even though he had been applicable for registration, he had been forced to wait almost eight months.

He checked his watch. _Crap! One minute left!!! _ He could see the registration center. He ran harder, swallowing the last of his pancake. He saw only two people waiting outside. _Damn it! Are they the only ones left!?_ He ran harder, and was finally at the center when his foot collided with something hard on the ground. "OW!" he yelled as he stumbled and skidded across the ground.

"Oh…hi, Alex." Alex looked up. "Oh, hey, Mara." He stood up and dusted himself off. Mara was a girl a few months younger than him. She was pretty, with fair skin, straight, dark red hair that went a foot past her shoulders, and light green eyes. She was dressed in blue jeans, a white jacket, and a grey-green shirt with mid length sleeves.

"Why in such a hurry to be early?" she asked. "Wai...bu…..what!?" he managed to sputter between the heavings of his chest. "Isn't the thing at nine?" He asked. "Dumbass…" said the second person, who Alex again recognized as a boy named Seph. Seph dressed plainly, in black jeans, a T-shirt, and a light jacket. Unlike the other two, his hair was short, his spiky bangs hanging above his eyebrows. "It _starts_ at nine. But the registration process continues for the rest of the day."

For a second, Alex just stood there. With a groan, he fell back against the wall of the registration center, letting himself slide down to the ground. Mara laughed, though not unkindly. "Well, at least we all can choose our starters together. You know they group every three entries into sets?" Alex shook his head while Seph nodded. "D'you mean we travel together?" Alex asked. "No. We just get grouped together in the League database. We each choose from the same set of three starters, so that we each get different starters."

"Oh, I get it. But what if two of us want the same starter?" Alex asked. "Hm…I guess I never thought of that." Mara said. "Think of it later." Seph said, glancing at his wristwatch. "We can go in now." "Sweet!" Alex said, hopping to his feet and dusting himself off. Together they walked to the door, and entered the building. Alex had been expecting sort of hotel lobby with a reception desk, but instead it was just a long room with a counter at one end.

They approached the desk, where they were greeted by a receptionist. "Hi!" she said, somewhat over-enthusiastically. "You're our first trio! Are you ready to register?" They all said yes, so she handed them some forms. Fill out your name, age, birthplace, and all the other personal info it asks for."

They took the next few minutes writing out their names, and filling out their particulars. When they had finished, they returned the forms, and waited as the overzealous receptionist entered all the information into a computer. There was a short wait, and then a beep from a monitor at the desk. On a large screen behind the receptionist, all the information that Alex, Mara, and Seph had entered scrolled up, along with each of their headshots.

"Well, that's all you need. You can all go right on through." Alex then noticed that to the right of the counter was a door. "Thanks." He said as they left the front room.

The new room was large. It was round, with dull metal walls on all sides. There was a circular indent in the center, with three more rounded indents within it. But other than a door that hung ajar on the opposite end of the chamber, the room was entirely empty.

Alex stepped forward. "Hello?" he called out, half expecting there to be no answer. Instead, he heard a large crash through the open door, followed by the sound of glass breaking. "A moment!" A raspy voice shouted. This was followed by several more crashes, and low mutterings, until finally, a man stepped out of the door.

He was old, perhaps in his seventies. His left hand shook as he walked, and he murmured constantly to himself. "Could work…easier if contact…perhaps a serum…no, no, waves…Oh...hello..." he said. He was clearly distracted in his thoughts. His glasses dangled from his ear, and his straggly white hair was a mess, tangling about like weeds. He wore a white lab coat over a shirt and lopsided bow tie. "I'm professor Odone.."

"Can I…Did you register?" He asked, veering off in midsentence. Seph said curtly, "Yes. We're here for our starters." "Oh..Ah, yes." "Sorry if I interrupted anything interesting." Alex said. "Sorry?" The old man asked. "There was a pretty big crash." He pointed out. "Oh…er, yes. Nothing…just a neural transponder…testing waves with synapses…brain stimuli…nothing really…Oh, starters, was it?" "Yes." "Right, right…"

The man reached into his coat pocket, and retrieved three differently colored round objects: one red, one blue, and one green. "Your licenses…"

He gave each of them one, the red going to Alex, the blue to Mara, and the green to Seph. They were round, about four inches across, with a small panel over the top.

With a press of his thumb, the panel pushed out, revealing a screen on the devise, and a small key pad. Pushing a button on the top of the device showed Alex's headshot, and all his information. "You can call with it also…send messages…it can also categorize species…and link with computers…It can even receive radio transmissions…" "Nice!" Alex said, admiring the device. It had a strap connected, which he used to attach it to his wrist.

"What about our starters?" Seph said, wasting no time. "Yes…where is it…" Prof. Odone reached into several of his pockets before retrieving a small remote. He pressed the only button on the device. There was a beep, and with a humming sound, the three rounded indents rose to reveal three four foot high pillars. When the pillars had risen to their full height, the tops separated into three panels, revealing a pokeball within each pillar.

The three stood there waiting expectantly, until the professor said "Well…choose!" "How do we know which ones they are?" Alex asked. Professor Odone said nothing, simply pointing at the devices he had given each of them. "Oh…right!" Alex said, for the first time noticing that the device had some sort of scanner on the back.

Alex strode up to the center pillar, and prepared to scan the pokeball. He paused for a moment, then put away the device. "I choose this one!" he said. "You didn't even look at it!" Mara protested. "Yeah, I know." Alex responded. "But this way there's no argument over who gets which, and if I looked I'd be unable to decide, and keep second guessing myself. Besides, I like to make the best of the situation at hand." "Well, you're sure…" the professor said. "I am." "Then scan the ball and press down on the pad to confirm it as being under your ownership." The scanner activated, shooting out a series of red fluctuating lights. They shifted over the ball for a moment and then pinged, with a diagram of the ball. The ball faded, replaced by an image of an orange, reptilian creature. _"Charmander"_ the scanner said in a metallic voice. Seph and Mara also chose their starters, and their scanners also identified their choices, saying _"Squirtle" _for Mara and _"Bulbasaur" _for Seph.

"Well, than it is done." The professor said. "All that remains is for you to name your pokemon, which you can do at any time." "Thanks, professor." Alex said. "Thank you." Odone responded "And good luck!"

Outside, they walked to the outskirts of the village. They stopped their, looking at each other. Alex was the first to move. He retrieved the pokeball containing Charmander, and released his first partner. With an instant red flash, the young lizard appeared, looking curiously up at Alex with a small yawn. With a chuckle, Alex reached out and rubbed the creatures head. Entirely serious, but still laughing, he said with an air of generality, "What the hell do we do now?"


	2. The Encounter

**Sorry the last chap was kind of lame, but that's my pattern- I think of some cool rising action or climax, and then I can't figure out how the hell to introduce it…ah well. BTW, although for all intents and purposes this takes place in Kanto, none of the names are the same…I always thought the color thing was stupid. So, if I do refer to a place by name, and don't just mention some land mark, I'll just come up with a new name. Enjoy! (The opening to this chapter is mostly explanation, and then it sucks for a bit, but it gets much better.)**

_**1 Month later**_

Alex stood atop the hill, the wind blowing the grass and his hair. He had changed somewhat in the month traveling on the road. He seemed more confident, and a bit stronger, in addition to being somewhat disheveled. He glanced to his side, and hefting his backpack, said, "Ready to head out?" Kaen gave what could have been interpreted as a nod, but was what really more of a jerking of his head. Over the month he had spent the road with Alex, the lizard had adopted some human mannerisms, like nodding, shaking his head, and even shrugging. They still came somewhat awkwardly to him, though.

The young Charmander had also grown while on the road, and was a full two feet in height. His growth seemed partly attributed to the training he had received; After Alex, Seph, and Mara had gone their separate ways, together they had battled every wild Pokémon they could find. They got sick of pidgey and rattata quickly, those common species being all they encountered for the first week. That was when they finally encountered some trainers. They had had a total of eleven battles already, and had won nine of them.

For the third time that day (and it was only noon), Alex flipped open his TNC (short for Trainer's Navigation Computer, which Alex had learned was the name of the device he had received from the professor) and opened the tutorial file he had found in the device, named "League requirements".

A vaguely masculine, computerized voice recited: "_The Championship Tourney League, or CTL, is an inter- regional tournament, which seeks to unite trainers in battle, and discover prime battlers in an elimination style series of tournaments. There are a total of nine pre-championship tournaments, each which has its own set of requirements."_

_"There are three tournaments per year, in a 3-year cycle. The first two have no requirements to enter. In the third tournament, the elimination will begin. To enter the third tournament, competitors must have averaged in the top fifty percent of the previous tournaments."_

_"Bear in mind that tournament rankings are based on point totals in addition to victories. Therefore, more points are earned for how well you battle, in addition to victory. So, certain trainers from the losing group may move on, though they receive a point reduction, making it highly difficult to move on if you lose the round. Also remember that point scores are cumulative, so low scores will drag you down, while high scores will hold you up. However, even if you achieve a sufficient TPA, or Tournament Point Average, to move on, if you lose too early in a tournament, you will still be eliminated."_

"_For the fourth tournament, competitors must average the top forty percent. For the fifth tournament, competitors must average in the top thirty percent of the tournament. Also, beginning in the fifth tournament, eliminations will occur based on competitor's VLR, or Victory-Loss ratio. All competitors must achieve a minimum ratio of 2:1, and have had a minimum of sixty battles. Note that the VLR applies not only to the tournament, but to all battles the competitor partakes in". _

_"For the sixth tournament, competitors must achieve within the top twenty five percent, and have a minimum ratio of 3:1, with a minimum of one hundred battles. For the seventh tournament, competitors must achieve within twenty percent, and have a ratio of 4:1, with a minimum of one hundred fifty battles. For the eighth tournament, the competitor must achieve within the top fifteen percent, and have a ratio of 5:1, with a minimum of two hundred forty battles. For the ninth and final pre-championship tournament, those who move on to the championship round must reach the final five percent, and achieve a final VLR of 10:1, with a minimum of five hundred fifty battles."_

_"The championship tournament occurs six months after the ninth and it is held at Mt. Horus. It is a regular tier-style tournament, lasting several days. The final round takes five finalists, and the final champion is decided in a five person free for all melee, in which each competitor has only one Pokémon. The winner is named the tournament champion. Should they re-enter the tournament in the next cycle, they are not required to start from the first tournament, and instead automatically earn a place in the melee."_

This was followed by a series of miscellaneous information, such as prize money and historic victories. Alex clenched his teeth. At first this had been exciting. But now, he was nervous. _10:1 ratio…that's damn close to impossible_. He thought to himself. Despite the fact that he himself had almost a 5:1 ratio, he felt sure this was due to the small amount of battles he had fought.

"Ah, to hell with it." He mumbled to himself. It was three years away. He wasn't about to drive himself mad about something that far away. He'd be _seventeen _by the time he'd have to prepare for the final tournament. Until then, he told himself he'd just need to keep his skills polished.

Alex looked around as he took his first step into Nord city. It was ringed by high, rock walls on all sides, save for a small, narrow pass, to the east. He walked forwards, making his way to the center. He was relieved that the city was relatively small and not all bright lights and massively tall buildings. Being from a small town himself, he was more comfortable with rural or suburban surroundings.

He entered the large building, taken aback by the complexity of the facility. It had dozens of areas, the main one providing medical care to Pokémon, and housing to trainers. It also had food courts, recreational areas, and even a library and computer room. He made his way to one of the lobbies overstuffed couches. Collapsing into it, he pulled off his left shoe and shook a pebble from it. "Damn thing was driving me nuts…" he muttered. Re-lacing his shoe, he found the reception desk. A young woman with chestnut hair tied back in a pony tail stood behind it. "Hey…" he greeted. "How do I get a room?" She smiled warmly. "That depends. Are you entered in the CTL?" He smiled. "Yup." He said, holding up his nav.

"In that case, you have two choices. The league sets up a tab with us city to city, giving its competitors free rooms and meals. That's why you have to pay an entry fee. Of course, the meal plan is fairly limited, and you get the smallest rooms, so it's not very luxurious. If you're looking for something more posh, you can always pay for your own room." Alex bit down on the inside of his cheek. He'd been hoping to kick back for a day or two, and his mom had set up a joint account with her money for him so he'd have some reserve cash, but she'd said not to overdo it, and he didn't want to start out spending that kind of money.

"Guess I'll take the free one." He told the receptionist. "Certainly." She said with a smile. She handed him a room card. "You're room 322. Bring the card to the cafeteria for your meal plan." He thanked her and left. He stopped at a map of the building on a wall, and located the sick bay. He dashed down a hall, up two flights of stairs, and entered the room two doors down and to the right. There were only three people inside, one the doctor, a nurse, and the other a boy several years older than Alex.

The doctor glanced towards him. "With you in a minute." She called. Alex sat himself on the examining table next to the older boy. He was tall, and well built. His hair was long, unruly, and jet black. He was around eighteen, and was being tended to by the nurse. She was currently wrapping his abdomen in bandages, binding a series of long cuts. His right arm, from the elbow to the shoulder, was already bound. "What happened there?" Alex asked, gesturing at the cuts. The older boy laughed. "I got caught up in attack during a battle. Took down my Primeape in one blow."

"Razor leaf?" Alex asked. The older boy smiled. "Close. Razor Wind." Alex winced. "That's got to sting." The older boy shrugged "Not really. It cuts, sure, but you don't actually have anything solid cutting through you, so the pain isn't that bad." He turned to the nurse. "Shouldn't I get some kind of disinfectant, or something?" The nurse arched an eyebrow at him. "You were cut by _air_. What's to disinfect?" "Ah." He said.

The doctor, who had been tending to the injured Primeape, came to Alex. "You look healthy. How can I help?" She asked. "Oh, I'm fine. I just wanted to get my Charmander looked at. It's nothing serious, but we've been through some battles and he's taken a few cuts and bruises." Alex unclasped the pokeball from his belt, and released Kaen. The doctor knelt to his height, and looked at each individual cut and bruise. After a minute, she finished. "He's fine. You might want to rest him for a little while, though. I think I'll give him a Regen to speed the healing along." Alex nodded. The doctor retrieved a small bottle with a sprayer head from a cabinet. Pressing down on the nozzle, she sprayed a mist of liquid onto Kaen's wounded areas. The liquid, simply called 'Regeneration' was a miracle substance that could be used to heal nearly anything. It sped up the regeneration of any tissues it came in contact with. It could make a cut that would take a week to heal scab and seal in just a few hours. It did its work quickly; Alex could already see his partner's bruises beginning to fade. The young lizard made what sounded like a gasp of surprise and delight at his healing. "There you go." The doctor said, rubbing Kaen's smooth head.

Instead of recalling him, Alex crouched down, and held out his forearm. The Charmander hopped on, climbing up to perch on Alex's shoulder. Alex walked to the door, and then turned to the boy he had been talking to. "I'm Alex by the way. You?" He smiled and held up a hand in farewell. "I'm Garrett. See you 'round." Alex nodded, and exited. In the hall, he glanced to his right, at Kaen. "So, what next?" He asked his friend. Answering his own question, he said, "Let's call mom and Izzy. It's been a month. She might not say so, but she worries."

He set out for the computer room, knowing that there would be phones there. The computers were in the basement of the building, so he had to climb down several flights of stairs. While he went, he made small talk with Kaen. "Y'know, these places are pretty impressive." He said. "The centers, that is. It's practically a hotel, hospital, and general service area all in one. There are even arenas for training and battling." Kaen responded to this statement with a blink and a small yawn.

When they reached the basement, Alex stood in awe. Rows upon rows of PC's were spread out, and there wasn't a single one older than a year. "This is damn impressive for public use…" He went to a payphone, fished a quarter out of his khakis, and dialed. "1…6…9…5…" He murmured as he dialed. The phone rang for a moment before it picked up, and he heard his mother's voice.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey mom."

"_ALEX!?"_ He grinned as she yelled in surprise and delight. "_Where are you?" _

"I'm at the center in Nord city." At that moment, Kaen made a small sound into the phone. _"What was that?" _ His mother asked. "Oh, just Kaen."

"_Kaen?" _

"My Charmander." At that moment, Alex realized he hadn't seen his mother or sister since running out of the house last month. Neither of them had seen Kaen.

"Hey mom, I have an idea. Go to my computer and set up a video chat. Get Izzy to help you. He quickly hung up and went to one of the computers. Alex had always been skilled with computers, so it was just a moment before he had established a connection with his home computer. A moment later, and his mother's and sister's faces appeared on his screen.

"Hey guys! This", He paused and held up Kaen to face the camera. "Is Kaen."

He received the expected reaction. Two simultaneous 'awwwws' and his mother saying, "He's adorable!" Alex grinned. "Yup, he's got it where it counts. He packs quite a punch, too."

"I wish I was your age…" Izzy said wistfully. "I can't wait to be a trainer."

Alex grinned fondly, looking forward to when he'd be able to help train his sister. "Yeah. Well, in five years, when I've won the tournament and beat everyone else, you can be my prot-"

_BOOM._

A massive noise came from above Alex's head. The ground shook, and he was thrown out of his seat. "GAH!" he yelled as his back collided with the wall, and he fell to the floor. He heard screams, and froze in terror as several large chunks of sealing fell and crushed desks and computers. The whole sealing began to crack and break apart, sending rock hurtling to the ground.

"KAEN!" He screamed. He saw his friend lying on his back, where he had been flung when the explosion occurred. Rock was falling all around him, it as of yet he was dazed but unhurt. Without thinking, Alex ran forward, dodging pieces of falling ceiling large enough to crush him, scooped up Kaen, and dove under a desk.

He covered Kaen with his body, and held covered his own head in his hands. He trembled, expecting to be crushed by a massive piece of stone. "SHIT!" he screamed, terrified. "OH, SHIT!" He screamed hoarsely when a rock the size of a refrigerator crushed the right side of the desk he was hiding under, inches from where he huddled. He pressed himself against the opposite side of the desk.

He dived out of the desk, and ran for the stairwell, holding Kaen in his arms. Wounded people lay all around him, and the screams of fear and pain and cries for help were deafening. He splashed through puddles of blood, and his vision narrowed as he tried to ignore all the people around him.

He reached the stairs, and ran up them, faster than he ever had. _What the hell is going on!?_ He screamed in his head. He approached the landing to the lobby, but something told him to stop. It was a good thing he did. Ducking by the entrance to the lobby from the stairs, he heard voices. The first was male, deep and hoarse. "Answer the question." The voice was calm, and followed by a loud scream. Alex looked around the entrance. There where four men in the room. All were dressed oddly. They wore some kind of cloak or robe, completely black, which covered them from neck to ankle. They wore leather boots, and their faces were masked. Three of them wore masks that looked to be medal. The masks had faces. Each face was the same, with red eyes and a wide, grinning mouth full of thin, sinister fangs. The rest of their heads was covered by a black cowl.

However, one of them was dressed differently. Instead of a robe, he was clad in a full body suit, which clung tightly to him, outlining his impressive musculature he had steel pauldrons strapped to his shoulders by a leather bandoleer. The bandoleer, and even his belt, was lined with Great and Ultra balls. His mask was also different from the others. The mouth was open, and the fangs were much longer than those on the other masks, curving outwards. And there were two ram horns on his mask, curling around at the sides of his head. And from the back of his cowl, a long black ponytail fell.

The man, who was apparently the leader, held a woman by the throat in his hand, her feet not even reaching the ground. With a start, Alex realized it was the brown haired receptionist who he had spoken to earlier. The side of her face was covered in blood, and the side of her dress was also soaked in it. Seeing how badly she was hurt angered Alex.

The man began to speak again. "_Where is-"_ Alex cut him off as he ran forward into the lobby.

"HEY! ASSHOLE!" he yelled, running towards him. All four of the cloaked men turned towards him. Alex saw fully how damaged the lobby was. The area around the front entrance had been blown away, along with half the wall. The floor was scorched, and debris was everywhere.

Alex roared out a command to his companion. "KAEN! EMB-" he was cut off. With ridiculous speed, one of the three cloaked men darted around to the side of where Alex was, and hurled a pokeball. While still in flight, the ball opened, and the Pokémon flew out roaring, and tackled Alex to the floor.

"Argh!" he yelled out, more in anger than actual pain. He recognized the Pokémon on top of him as a Pinsir, though at the moment he was more concerned that it had very nearly beheaded him with its mandibles than he was with its species. It lashed out, biting and clawing at him. He yelled in pain as its claws cut through the flesh of his left cheek, and he felt blood seep down his neck. _GODDAMIT! _He roared in his head.

"KAE-" he needn't have bothered giving the order. A globule of read and orange flame fired from the lizard's mouth blasting into the Pinsir's side. It wasn't enough to dislodge the bug, which Alex now began to feel was a higher level than Kaen. But it hurt it enough to make it temporarily stop clawing at Alex. The teen took that opportunity to tuck his legs up against his chest, and kick out with both feet against the Pokémon on top of him.

The Pinsir was knocked off of him, onto its back. Alex dashed back to where Kaen was, and held out his forearm while in mid-step. Kaen immediately understood, and leapt up onto Alex's arm. Alex swung his arm forward, launching his partner into the air.

"EMBER!" he roared. Kaen spat fire at the insect with a small roar.

"ACID!" The Pinsir's trainer yelled. The brown insect spewed out a purplish black liquid from its jaws, which collided with the fire. There was a loud hiss, and smoke filled the air as the fire burned through the vile liquid. Most of the flame was gone though, so what was left only served to slightly hurt Kaen's opponent. Kaen was still in the air, though.

"SLAM!" Alex roared, and Kaen curled into a tight ball, spinning rapidly as he fell, gaining more and more momentum at the last moment, he uncurled, and lashed out with his tail, with al his momentum behind him. There was a crack like a whip, and the Pinsir was smashed to the floor, tiling shattering and scattering where he was struck.

"Good job Kaen!" he called to his partner.

He turned to the leader. "DROP HER!" he yelled at him. In response the masked man _tsked_, cocked his head to the side, and raised the third finger of his hand. The receptionist, barely conscious, whispered weakly, "Don't…ru-"

"SHUT UP!" the man yelled, as he lifted her and smashed her face against the wall. She gave a choked scream, and lost consciousness amid a splash of blood from her wounds.

"BASTARD!" Alex yelled in anger. "KAEN, EMBER!"

The masked man laughed. One of the cloaked men threw a pokeball from his sleeve. "Barrier!" he barked. A Magneton appeared form the ball. The three segments separated, forming a triangle between them. A glowing yellow light glowed between them. The flame collided with it, and dispersed, with not a scratch on either the masked man or the Magneton.

"KAEN! SLASH!" he yelled, and the two raced towards the leader. Kean dashed forward, overtaking Alex and leaping into his attack. The cloaked man who had released the Magneton stepped in front of his leader. "Zap cannon." The barrier dissipated, and the three Magnetons all spun around in individual orbits around a centered point. Moving so fast that their outlines blurred a sphere of gold and black power built up, lines of electricity sparking all around it. There was a loud, high pitched screech, and the three segments shot backwards as the sphere of electricity launched like a cannon.

Kaen was still in mid-leap when the sphere of electricity collided head on into his chest. He crumpled around the sphere, a sound of pain tearing from his lips. It pushed him back, a streak of lightning following its path. Kaen was rocketed back into Alex, and the force behind the attack lifted him off his feet and sent him hurtling through the air. Alex screamed as electricity coursed through him, piercing his skin in a hundred different places.

As the final stage of the attack, the sphere exploded in a surging mass of electricity. Alex roared in pain, and was left gasping for breath as he flew against the wall. The two collapsed to the floor in a crumpled mass. Their leader laughed. "Pathetic." He lifted the unconscious receptionist onto his shoulder. "Let's go." The four turned and started to leave.

"_Don't take another step, you bastards."_ The four stopped and turned. Alex was trembling, struggling to stand. His breath came out in gasps. His body was a wreck. His sweatshirt and khakis were in tatters. The knees of his pants were torn, and his knees were scraped and bloody. His knuckles and palms were skinned and red. Blood covered his face as well, pouring down from his forehead.

His legs shook, and he had to lean most of his weight on the wall behind him. The leader of the group of four sighed. "How troublesome. Here I was hoping you'd just die." He tossed the receptionist to

"Sorry to disappoint." Alex growled, spitting out a globule of blood. In an instant, the leader crossed the distance between them. His fist buried into Alex's stomach. Alex gasped, all air flying from his lungs. Next his foot collided with his face, tearing the skin under his eye and splashing blood. Alex slid across the floor, as the Magneton followed its leader into the lobby.

"You really ought to stay down. Perhaps you won't die if you give up." The masked man said. At that moment, Alex grinned. "You've seemed to lost sight of something." The masked man cocked his head. "What?" A blast of fire flew from above, exploding against the Magneton. The Magneton was smashed into the floor as a second mass of flame flew down from the ceiling, this time targeting the masked man. The fire would have struck him upon the crown of his head had he not quickly leapt to the side. Despite his speed, the ember caught him on his side.

" Gah!" He cried out as his arm caught fire, and he thrashed around wildly, trying to put out the flame. With a snarl, he tore the sleeve off. His bare arm was an angry red, blistered and bleeding. Kaen fell through the air, and lashed out with his claws at the masked man. He raised his arm to guard himself. Kaen slashed four long cuts in his arm. Blood dripped to the floor. Clutching his arm, the masked man lashed out, his boot catching Kaen in the stomach. Kaen was sent crashing back, but he rose determinedly.

"You had him cling to the ceiling when the zap cannon struck, and used the smoke from the embers and the explosion to hide him. Clever." The man spoke almost as if amused, though there was a tangible malice in his voice. "Oh, you are _tenacious._" He said, almost laughing. In an instant, his voice changed to a snarl. "I'll put an end to that."

He turned around, and headed to the exit of the lobby. Alex frowned. _What's he playing at?_ The leader, once at the exit, he turned and took three great balls from his bandoleer, and released them, revealing a Sandslash, a Mankey, and a Weezing.

"Sandslash, deal with him. Mankey, wait out here. If he survives and tries to get out, kill him." Alex tensed. _He's planning something more than a simple attack._

The masked man paused, and then barked out, "Weezing, smokescreen." The toxic Pokémon roared, belching and venting massive clouds of black smoke into the lobby. It quickly filled the entire lobby, taking away his vision.

At first, Alex thought the smoke was simply to blind him. But when it filled his lungs, he gagged and choked. The filthy smoke blocked and sealed his airways, and what it didn't block wasn't enough to take in any air. He fell to his knees, choking and gagging, trying to breathe. He looked to his side, and saw that Kaen was similarly effected.

_NO!_ He screamed in his head, clutching his throat. His lungs and airways burned, both from want of air and from the corrosive, vile fumes that filled them. His eyes watered and burned. _DAMMIT!_

A desperate idea came to his mind at that moment. _It'll probably kill us…but I think that's going to happen anyway._ Alex felt a strange sense of calm determination, his thoughts taken over by adrenaline.

Frantically, he grasped Kaen's shoulder. With no air to speak, he gesticulated wildly: first pointing at the floor, and then a wide, sweeping motion with his hand. He repeated it twice before Kaen understood.

Kaen raised his hand. His two inch claws contracted slightly inward, growing denser and taking on a grey sheen. He struck the floor twice, leaving long gouges in the tiling. The floor was already in very bad shape from the first explosion. Cracks spread quickly around the cuts. A third swipe of his hand, and the section of floor fell away below them.

They fell with it, tumbling through the air. Alex, clear of the haze, began to cough. His throat cleared just enough to allow him to speak. Every word made him feel like he had a thousand burning daggers imbedded on the inside of his esophagus, but he still managed to scream out hoarsely, "EMBER!" Kaen spat fire into the shattered ceiling. This attack was a stab in the dark; Alex knew that. But if he was right, it would be worth it.

His hopes were fulfilled as the smoke swallowed up the attack, and then exploded. The smoke was flammable, and the rest of the floor fell away as the huge amount of smoke turned into an even larger raging inferno, exploding in all directions.

"OOF!" all breath was knocked out of Alex as he crashed into the floor. He curled into a ball, his body a huge mass of pain. It was several minutes before he found the strength to stand. He looked around. He was in some bare room. At least; it was bare now. Everything in the room was either on fire or crushed by debris. However, it looked like it might have been a cafeteria. _A cafeteria would have a first aid kit…_

He looked around, and under the wreckage of a demolished counter, found what he was looking for; a red box with a white cross. Searching through its contents, he found a bottle of Regen and a roll of bandages. He quickly sprayed Kaen's injuries with the liquid, as well as himself where he was bleeding the worst. He wrapped his forehead to stop the blood from pouring into his eyes, as well as his left arm, which had been badly burned by the zap cannon, and both knees, which had been badly skinned.

He stood shakily, when he heard more voices.

"That noise came from the lobby."

"That's where the lieutenant was! We'd better check it out. Come on!"

Alex cursed. _Of course there weren't only four of them. I'd better get out of here._

He dashed for a stairwell, which took him to what was left of the lobby. He had to leap from the stairs to the curb in front of the building. It was there that he found the bodies of the Weezing, Sandslash, and Mankey, as well as the three underlings to the masked man. They were all badly hurt, but none of them were dead. He also found the receptionist, unconscious but in no worse harm than she had been before the blast. He quickly sprayed what was left of the Regen onto her wounds and bandaged her cuts.

He was angered but unsurprised find that their leader's body was not among them. He scanned the area. Nord city was not a gleaming metropolis of skyscrapers and gridlocked streets. It had paved roads, but its buildings were short and placed almost randomly. It was, essentially, a small town that had been enlarged to many times it's size.

It didn't take Alex long to find the masked man. He stood a large distance away, staring towards Alex. After a moment of standing motionless, he beckoned, then turned and walked away.

Alex grit his teeth in anger. "Bastard." He snarled. He would have stood and followed, but he heard police sirens, and he suddenly realized how exhausted he was, sinking to his knees.

Half a dozen squad cars pulled up, and at least two dozen officers got out, all well armed. One of them reached for his holster. "Don't move!" he barked out at Alex.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Rick?" Another man said. "It's just a hurt kid."

That man walked up to Alex. "You alright, kid?" He held out a hand to help him up. "Y-yeah." Alex said shakily, taking the hand. The man hauled him up to his feet.

The man got his first good look at not only the damaged wall of the center, but also that the entire lobby area was destroyed. He cursed softly. "What's your name, kid?"

"Alex."

"I'm Sergeant Lincoln. What in god's name happened here?" he asked.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. There was an explosion, and the ceiling started breaking up. I was in the basement. I came up and found these-" he gestured at the three men on the ground, "Smacking around that receptionist."

Lincoln stared at him. "And how exactly did you wind up looking like you went ten rounds with a bear with them all out cold?" Alex shrugged lamely, suddenly feeling embarrassed about how he had rushed out. Still, he answered the sergeant's questions with his customary bluntness. "I put them there, and they put me here."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "Alone?" Alex nodded. Lincoln whispered. "You must be a hell of a trainer. Either that or you should start buying lotto tickets." Alex laughed.

"Is this the first time you've seen guys like this, sir?" Lincoln nodded. "Ever. Why, are there more of them." Alex nodded. "I overheard some others. And there was a fourth one with these three. He was the leader of the group." Lincoln frowned. "Where's he?"

"He escaped, 'bout a minute before you guys got here. That way." Alex said, pointing. Lincoln swore. "Alright we've got more guys in there and the boss heading east!" He shouted to his officers. "Jackson, Albert, Laramie, you take ten and sweep the place! The rest of you, with me, we're going after the boss!"

"Wait!" Alex said. Lincoln paused. "What is it?" Alex gestured at the building. "That place is a wreck. It could fall apart any minute, and there're a lot of hurt people in there. You're going to need all you're men to get them out." The sergeant protested in frustration. "We have to grab this guy before he gets away! This is obviously some type of cult thing, we can't let him escape to attack again!"

Alex shook his head hopelessly. "Even if you catch him, I don't think that'll keep more attacks from being made. I think this guy is just the beginning." Lincoln frowned. "What makes you think that?" he asked impatiently. "The guys I overheard called him 'Lieutenant.' Not 'Captain', or 'boss'. The way they spoke about him made him seem like he was just some kind of officer, not the leader of their group."

Lincoln cursed. "Crap!" He growled angrily. "But we can't let him get away, all the same. My hands are tied." He turned to leave again. "Wait! In that case…I'll go after him." Alex screamed at himself to shut up.

Lincoln looked at him oddly. "I can't ask you to do that." Alex waved away his protests. "You're not asking, I'm telling. If you don't get all your men to work on getting those people out right away, that buildings going to come down and kill them all. You can't get them out and stop him at the same time. So…I'll go."

Lincoln hesitated. "Fine, but be _careful_. Take two of my men, I'm not letting you go alone." He shouted to his men. "Finn, Lake, you're with the kid! Everyone else, move it!" He and the rest of the men rushed into the building. Finn and Lake ran after Alex, who lead the way to where the masked man had run.

They ran to the edge of town, leaping over a stone ledge and dashing through a thicket of trees. They followed the leader's trail, through a narrow pass through the rock walls that surrounded Nord city. They followed the strait passage deeper into the hills. Finally, they came to a bend in the pass. They turned around the corner.

It led to a steep cliff that ended the pass. Perched on the cliff was the masked man. Finn drew his pistol, and leveled it at the masked man. "FREEZE!" He shouted. "I'm not moving, idiot." The masked man said irritably.

The ground below Finn exploded in a cloud of dirt and dust. A gray, bumpy arm reached out of the ground, and grasped his ankle. Finn shouted in surprise, and leveled his gun at the ground. He fired off two shots, and as he fired the third the hand around his leg clenched. There was a sickening crunch as Finn's ankle broke, and he screamed in pain.

The ground exploded, and a the owner of the arm was revealed. The Graveller leapt into the air as it erupted from the ground, and punched Finn in the gut with one of its shorter arms. It spun in midair, grasping Finn by the shoulder with its longer arm, throwing him against the rock wall. There was a sickening thud, and he slid to the ground, a patch of blood where his head had struck the rock. The Graveller landed on its feet, and immediately leapt over Alex's head, landing in front of Lake.

Lake had time to draw his weapon and fire once into the graveller's face before it smashed him face first into the rock face with one of its shorter arms. It then grabbed him by the head with its longer arm, spun him around, and slammed him once more against the wall. It the struck him one more blow to the stomach before letting him slide to the ground and turning to face Alex.

The masked man leapt down. "Well, well, well. I suppose it's to be expected you followed the man who said he would kill you into the secluded mountain pass where sound doesn't travel. You haven't shown much intelligence in the short time I've known you."

"KAEN, EMBER!" Was Alex's only response. The globule of fire struck the Graveller head on. He staggered back a step or two, and raised his arm slightly, but otherwise was unfazed.

The masked man _tsked._ "Stupid. Plain, simple, stupid. You're not one for originality, are you?"

"KAEN, METAL CLAW!" His companion leaped at the rock type and struck him head on. The Gravellier roared, as dust and rock fragments sprayed from where he had been cut, marked by four gouges in the stone. "MEGA PUNCH!" the masked man barked.

The Gravellier lashed out, striking Kaen forcefully in the face, knocking the flame lizard back across the ground. Kaen struggled to rise. The masked man laughed. "SEISMIC TOSS!" the Gravellier ran after Kaen, and grabbed him by the head. He leapt up, high into the air, slowing as he gained altitude.

"KAEN, BITE!" The masked man laughed as Kaen bit down on his Graveller's arm. "NOW, EMBER!" His laughing faltered as the fire blasted point blank into his combatants arm. Even with the rock type advantage, this was damaging, evidenced by the Graveller's roar of pain. By now, the Gravellier had slowed, and started on the descent. "GOOD! NOW; METAL CLAW, RIGHT THERE!" Kaen freed one of his arms, and snarled as he lashed out with claws of steel at the already injured limb. Another spray of dust as steel cut stone, and Kaen broke free of Graveller's grasp, firing one last ember and spraying him with flame as a token of farewell.

The Gravellier crashed into the ground…minus one arm. Dirt and rock sprayed as he shattered the ground with his massive weight. Kaen landed lightly on his feet, skidding marginally as his momentum died. The Gravellier screamed in pain, lashing in all directions with his remaining limbs.

Alex smirked. "I'll stick with my routine, if it's all the same to you!" He called out mockingly to the masked man. "It's been good to me so far!"

There was silence, and then the masked man roared in fury. "ROCK THROW!" he roared. The Gravellier smashed the ground, and roared, hurling boulders at Kaen. Kaen reacted on his own.

He shattered the first with a metal claw; the second, he sidestepped and deflected with the same motion. For the third, he leapt up and fired an ember at the ground, the force and heat lifting him above it. The fourth and last he was unable to stop, and it crashed into him. He rose again, anger and determination showing on his face. He seemed not to feel the pain, despite the obvious damage to his body.

"META-" His command was unneeded. Kaen struck with his hardened claws again and again, each strike bring a puff of dust from the opponent, as well as a roar of pain. For every strike Kaen made, the Gravellier retaliated. A mega punch, then a stomp. A body slam, and then a headbutt. But after each strike Kaen rose again, angrier, and faster and stronger. After getting up for the sixth time after a rock throw in which all four boulders struck Kaen, not fazing him in the least. Alex suddenly realized what was happening, and grinned. Then, Gravellier struck with low kick, knocking Kaen away, and getting some breathing space. The Gravellier was exhausted, sinking to its knees.

"ON YOUR FEET!" the masked man roared. "ROLLOUT!" The rock type rose and leapt back, curled into a ball, and started rolling at tremendous speeds towards Kaen. "Ember!" Alex roared, smirking. He was completely in control, and he knew it. The mass of fire blasted directly where the Gravellier met the ground. The rolling sphere of stone was lifted a foot into the air, careening out of control. "Now, metal claw!" Alex said, almost laughing. Kaen struck, and the Gravellier roared in pain. It crashed to the ground, spitting dirt and stones in all directions.

The masked man snarled his next order. "STOMP! AT _THEM!_" Too late, Alex realized that Gravellier had landed directly next to the injured policemen. "NO!" Alex yelled. Kaen fired an ember, knocking the Gravellier off balance and buying some time. He ran at the rock type, and struck at him, trying to distract him. His first slash missed, as the Gravellier sidestepped it. He move directly into the second, but wasn't quick enough. Gravellier struck with mega punch, catching Kaen square in the face, and knocking him off his feet. Kaen rose, and stabbed out with his claws.

"Harden!" The masked man barked. The Gravellier froze, and seemed to clench its body tightly together. The metal claw attack connected, but the Gravellier didn't so much as wince. It lifted Kaen into the air, and slammed him down on his back. _Damn it!_ Alex cursed mentally, horrified by how swiftly the tide had turned. It followed that with a stomp to his gut, striking so hard that the stone around where Kaen lay on his back cracked.

The graveller's relentless assault did not end there. With a roar, it grasped Kaen by the face, and threw him against the rock face. Kaen slumped, falling to the ground, struggling to stand. "Rock throw!" The masked man yelled.

With a roar, the Gravellier sent four boulders hurtling at Kaen. They struck in order, one after the other, shattering when they collided against each other. As each one struck, the rock wall around Kaen _indented_, and he was crushed further and further into the cliff wall.

Finally, after the attack ended, the boulders fell, Kaen was a shattered, bloody mess. He collapsed forwards. _No…_Alex said, filled with terror when he saw how badly hurt Kaen was. Kaen struggled to rise, one arm wobbling under him. "Finish it." The masked man said softly. Roaring bloodthirstily, the Gravellier curled up, and flew forward, attacking with rollout. Kaen finally pushed himself to his feet, but that was all he could manage.

The Gravellier was seconds away from crushing Kaen against the mountainside. _He's so hurt…it might not work._ Alex said to himself, his mind racing for some way to save his partner. He clenched his jaw, his knuckles turning white as he crushed his hand into a fist. A bead of sweat mixed with blood fell from his forehead to his chin. _But it's all that's left._ He roared out, "KAEN! RAGE!"

Releasing all the damage and pain he had taken since the Graveller's first rock throw into a single strike, he roared and lashed out with a fist. Kaen's body seemed to expand with power, veins bulging in his arms and neck. His fist collided with the Gravellier. For an instant, a millionth of a second, time seemed to slow, and it was as if everything had frozen: Kaen's face frozen in a snarl, his fist crushing into the graveller's face, stone cracking and shattering beneath his hand. And then everything reverted back to normal. The Gravellier was crushed into the ground, and it made a crater where he struck the earth. Rock and dirt exploded in all directions, huge cracks and gouges running from where the Gravellier struck the ground all the way to the opposite cliff face. The wall of rock cracked and shattered, chunks of stone falling and crashing to the ground. _What the-_Alex thought in shock, thrown off his feet by the shockwave that emanated form the single blow. _What the hell just happened!? That's way too powerful!_

And then, Kaen's fist erupted into flame. He roared, not high as it had been before, but deeper and gravelly. Fire exploded and danced all around his body. In a single second, he grew to double his height, a red horn sprouting form the back of his head. _He evolved! _Alex thought, looking on in wonder. In an instant, Kaen had morphed from a small lizard into a large, strong, beast.

The dust settled. And Kaen stood to his full height, four feet. His claws were half a foot long, and strong flame burned at the tip of his tail. He roared, spewing a stream of flame, revealing his razor sharp fangs. They were white, and as lustrous as pearls, each one nearly two inches long. The Gravellier lay in a shattered heap, motionless in the crater that Kaen's strike had formed.

Alex ran to his partner's side. "Kaen…that was…" Alex couldn't finish his sentence, completely awestruck. Kaen growled in agreement, his maw spreading in a savaged grin.

They turned to face the masked man, who had remained silent throughout all of the attack. For a long time, he stood there motionlessly, just staring at them. Then he laughed. "I have to admit, _that_ was exciting. I'm eager for round two…a shame it'll be the last round."

"Stop bluffing." Alex growled. "We took down you're Gravellier. Kaen's been completely restored by his evolution, and he's easily more than three times as strong now. You've lost." The masked man laughed. "You've got a Charmeleon. That's all. I have all these." He said, gesturing at the great and Ultra balls that lined his bandoleer. "And tell me this: Do you truly believe that they're all as pathetically weak as that Gravellier? I fight often, and with multiple opponents for long periods of time. I need many combatants. But in the end, most of them are tools, and weak. I have only a select few who are truly my partners. I always save the best-" He plucked a golden Ultraball from his belt, and casually let it slip through his fingers to strike the ground. "-for last."

There was a massive roar, so loud the ground shook. Alex gasped in shock, covering his ears from the horrible noise. He fell to his knees, closing his eyes in pain. As suddenly as it had started, the screech stopped. Alex opened his eyes. For a moment, he was confused. Everything was dark. He realized he was in shadow. He slowly looked up, and trembled in fear. "Alex, I'd like you to meet Terrar."

Alex had never seen an Onix outside of pictures, but even so he knew that this one was several times normal size. It's body, instead of the normal slate, stone grey, was the black of obsidian. The masked man stood upon it's head.

"RUN!" Alex roared. Kaen, for all his courage, did not question Alex's judgment. The masked man sighed. "Stone edge." Alex and Kaen both screamed in pain as shards of stone cut and stabbed at them from all directions. Alex fell to the ground, a length of stone embedded in his thigh. "Farewell." The masked man said. "It's been a scream."

"Sand tomb." The ground beneath where Alex lay exploded. The cliff walls followed suit, everything ground to sand and dust. Alex's sight turned black, and he had enough time to feel his lungs burning for want of breath and his body being ground and crushed beneath the sand before his mind faded into darkness.

**Hmm….this came out rather violent. (That probably won't change as the story progresses.) Just as a bit of an explanation for the enormous gap between updates, I gave up on fan fiction, and then got bored enough to take it up again. Hopefully this doesn't suck! Oh, I realize the beginning sucks, but I was really just rushing to the fight scene, so that's why.**

…**..chirp, chirp….Anyone there?**


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